Bury the Past

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

Chapter 12 (Class Act)

The guilt he felt could not be eradicated easily. Though Martin did not cheat on his wife, and never would he commit such an atrocity to his marriage, he couldn't shake the feeling of being the world's greatest dumbass.

Alcohol caused him a great deal of pain, so after that night he vowed never to drink again. There were a few missed calls from his wife since, and voicemails where all he could do was listen to her voice. "I love you," she would say, "I need you. I never meant to hurt you, and I know you wouldn't hurt me. We need to talk, please, I can't keep going on like this…Martin…"

He could see she was hurting, but he felt there was nothing he could do. Never had he wanted to become the source of her pain, the reason behind her tears. She needed him to support her, as he had done in the past, and he was too ashamed to even talk to her.

Martin chose now to distract himself with something he'd never seen before: A carnival of sorts. Not a circus, but a family of magicians and comedians traveling the countryside. They were travelling through the elderly community of Oasis Canyon, where Gary and Carol were, and stopping there to entertain the elderly before moving on to their next destination. Gary suggested he go, and here he was in the third row of a large auditorium.

The stage was lit by a border of lights, and a long velvet red cape began to pull away. Martin smiled as he saw a man in center stage. He had a long cape, black on the back and red on the inside, and was wearing a tuxedo. A top hat rested atop curly black hair. His head was bowed and his hand was on the tip of the hat.

"Introducing," said a deep disembodied voice, "The great! The eccentric! Robert Augustine Shapiro." The man raised his head and extended his arms.

"Augusté, man, the name is Augusté. Tis not my fault, my mother was French and my father was cattle." Martin blinked twice, the corner of his lip twitched.

"I was simply saying…"

"Introduce my stunning assistant and gorgeous wife." There was a long pause, followed by Robbie rolling his eyes. "Never you mind, I shall do it myself." The man removed his top hat, letting it sail through the air. A red bird flew from the hat, causing Martin and the audience to gasp. "What? My wife was supposed to come out of that." Robbie looked up to where the bird disappeared atop the stage. "Ah. Aha! There you be!"

A trapeze descended into view. Martin's eyes grew large and he applauded with the audience when he saw a woman hanging with the trapeze at her midsection. She had a long red one piece suit resembling a bathing suit, and coattails split in two going down her legs. Her vibrant red hair swept past her shoulders and caressed her back.

The woman dropped, releasing the bar for a split second, then gripping it with her palms facing inwards. She pulled herself up and kicked forward, doing this until she encircled the bar. Robbie raised his hands, motioning towards him. "Come hither my dear, so we may begin. We don't want to leave these folks waiting now."

The stage beneath his feet started to shift and he lowered one hand as a platform pushed him into the air. "Come now Catherine, we do not have all day my sweet." Cat glared at him, pausing for a moment, then continuing to perform a series of acrobatics on the trapeze.

Martin laughed and Robbie looked at the audience with a sigh. "Women. So very stubborn." Cat flung towards him, arms and legs outstretched. Robbie jumped back, shouting in alarm as he extended his arms and caught her around the waist. "My dear?" He pulled her close, holding her hand above their heads and his left arm around her waist. "Whatever has gotten into you?"

The platform beneath them lowered, leaving them in midair. Robbie looked down, then up, down again, and back to his wife. "Good lord woman!" Cat proceeded to fall back slowly, dropping her upper body, arms and head towards the ground. Robbie held her firmly, sweeping her to the side and pushing up on her back, resulting in her springing to life and throwing her arms around his neck. He looked into her eyes, bounced a single eyebrow and started to descend with her. "Shall we drop, my love? So you see, I have you. Trust, and we will not fail."

As they lowered, a young girl started doing a series of frontal flips from the back end of the stage. She had curly brown hair, a freckled face, and couldn't have been much older than eight years old. The child hopped up and extended her arms into the air, grabbing Robbie and Cat by the ankles.

"Ah look, it's our Kitten." The child pulled them to the ground and started to circle them. Robbie hugged his wife and the couple began to couch as the child tossed a blanket over them. To Martin's surprise, the couple seemed to shrink until the blanket slid off Robbie and landed flat on the ground.

"Whoa!" Martin's eyes widened and he leaned forward. "Where'd she go?" He was already getting into this, it was a class act like no other and excelled at getting him to forget about his worries elsewhere.

Robbie put his hand to his forehead and started looking around. "Oh Catherine? Where be you my love?" A cloud of smoke burst behind him, and once it cleared, the audience could see Cat laying down on a table. "There you are!"

Robbie ran to the other side of her and held his hand over her stomach, as she had her hands on it. "What ails you my dear?" His hand rose, and with it, her stomach started to balloon. It shrank when he pushed his hand down and ballooned again as he raised his hand. "What is this mysteriousness?"

He gripped the handle bars and rushed her off, calling for a doctor. He ran back onto the stage with a tall box that had a door in place. Martin's eyebrows rose and he started to chuckle as he watched Cat, with a ballooned stomach, enter the box. Robbie shut the door, then proceeded to open it.

What came out was a five year old boy with light brown hair and a round face. The boy waved and walked to the left. "Oh! It's a child!" Robbie shut the door. "Love? Are we done yet?" He opened the door and an identical boy marched out. "Another child? Have we cloned a boy?" He shut the door and whisked his arm out in front of him, staring down at his wrist. His foot tapped the stage several times then he opened the door again, and once more an identical young boy marched out, waving the same as the other two.

"Oh my god there's three of them." Martin covered his mouth and raised his eyebrows. Robbie shut the door again and looked around the box, gasping as his wife walked around from the back, her stomach once again shrunken.

The family walked to the front of the stage, Robbie and Cat standing in the center of their four children, they took each other's hands and bowed. "So it begins…"

The magic routine went on for a good two hours almost, then dispersed. Martin had a great time, laughing at all the comic moments and relaxing. At the end of it all, he dispersed into the café within the building.

He ordered some food and took a seat at a table, where he spent more time gazing at a photograph of his wife on their wedding day. Tears welled up in his eyes when he thought about how separated they were right now; and he still didn't know how to react to her having never discussed her past.

To his surprise, he saw Robbie and his family eating there as well. When he looked up, he saw the magician staring at him with a perplexed look. The man snapped his fingers and walked over. "What is this?" Robbie asked while spreading his arms out. "You come to my show and you cry? Did I not entertain?" Martin wiped his eyes and chuckled softly.

"No, no, it isn't that. I loved your show." Robbie took a seat, his eyes drifting towards the photograph. The man leaned back, straightening his broad shoulders and letting out a gentle show. "I'm just thinking about Ellie." Robbie's eyebrow rose and his out turned up into a smile.

"Your wife?"

"I miss her. She's working a case in LA right now…we haven't really been talking."

Robbie leaned forward, cupping his chin and furrowing his bushy eyebrows. "How come?" The man released his chin and waved his hand. "If you don't mind me asking, that is." Martin sniffed, running his thumb over the glossy photograph. His chest ached and his stomach turned over. "Are you having a fight?"

"Because of her past, because I realized I don't know a thing about her."

"Oh? You know nothing of a woman you've married?"

"We've been together three years."

"So how do you say you don't know her, kind sir?"

"Because…she isn't who she said she is."

"She is not? Who does she say she is? Who has she been in these years you've been with her?"

"God I…" Martin chuckled once and closed his eyes. "She's kind, she doesn't give up on anything. She-She's remarkable. She's determined and caring. I've always loved the way she smiles whenever she meets someone new and engages in conversation. I've never met a woman like her in my life, with the spirit or soul she has. She's strong, though she wouldn't admit it, she is."

"What makes you think she isn't any of these things all of a sudden?"

"I don't know, man." Martin ran his hand through his hair and groaned. "I'm feeling like she couldn't be honest with me about her past. She didn't tell me she had a sister, didn't tell me about her parents. Ellie's not even her actual name."

Robbie put his hand to his chest, gasping aloud. "No!" The man leaned back, laughing out. "She sounds a lot like this girl I used to know. Trina Vega." Martin smiled sadly, recognizing the name. Robbie smirked. "Marvelous woman!"

Cat walked over, pushing her hand forward along her husband's shoulder. "Marvelous woman," she said in agreeance. "I heard Ellie. Who is Ellie?" Robbie cleared his throat and leaned into his wife, who was looking suspiciously at him.

"Trina Vega."

"Oh." Cat raised her arm, belting out. "Marvelous woman!" Cat took a seat and looked at her husband. "Been a long time."

"Yes, yes." Robbie leaned back slowly, chuckling softly. "She went through a lot of pain in the days I remember her." Martin opened his mouth, but was too stunned for words. "Picked on and bullied constantly, but you know what? She always tried to stay on top of it all, never letting it get to her. She was strong, and determined to make a good life for herself one way or another."

Martin frowned and closed his eyes. "You don't say…I met someone that knew her, he said she was insane. Like she almost tried to kill this sister of hers by taking her blood one time for a role in a play or something." Cat furrowed her brow and pursed her lips.

Robbie folded his hands on the table, rubbing his thumbs together. "Now you see my good sir, that never occurred. No. Whomever told you that was a liar with poor intentions." Robbie raised a finger, clearing his throat. "A magician's motive is to deceive for the amusement of those who are to be entertained. A liar's motive is to deceive for his own amusement. A liar cannot be trusted, but a magician is not a liar and can be trusted."

"What are you saying?"

"This man? Who was he?"

"I don't know. Some glasswork guy named Beck." Robbie leaned back and exchanged a strange look with his wife. "You know him?"

"A bit." Robbie waved his hand in the air. "He is unimportant." Robbie cleared his throat and leaned forward, pointing. "I will tell you however, a woman named Jade is the one for whom the incident you discuss happened." Cat nodded solemnly and Martin's mouth fell open. "That very woman, who dated this Beck, was the main source of bullying towards Katrina Vega. Poor girl, even I caused her a good amount of grief."

"Oh yes," Cat remarked while rolling her eyes. "Thank god you haven't dropped me from a harness yet." Robbie closed his eyes and swept his index finger towards Cat.

"Let us not discuss that matter, my dear."

"I'm surprised she didn't kick your ass after that."

"I'm surprised I'm not dead yet, especially after tasting your cooking the other night, my sweet."

"Excuse me?"

"That firecracker salmon?" Robbie pat his stomach and groaned. "Oh that gave me grief for days my love."

"Be wary, sweetie, lest you fall from a harness one day."

Martin coughed into his hand and stifled a laugh as Robbie shook his head and looked back at the man. "Trina Vega. She had a lot of trust issues, understandably so. Her father was distant, her mother uninvolved, and her sister was right with the lot of her friends about insulting her sister."

"Wow." Martin's heart sank into his stomach and he bowed his head. "Sounds rough."

"She had a rough life. Her grandparents passed away, but no one ever talked much about what happened. There were tragedies in her childhood. Ah if only she had the support of friends and family, but she never did. Perhaps only her godparents."

"Yeah…" His brow furrowed. "You know, that Beck, he also said she went after some red-haired girl's boyfriend. Danny or whatever." Cat's face tensed for a second and Beck turned to her, laughing abruptly.

"This one is yours, my dear."

Rolling her eyes, Cat leaned forward, sliding her hand along the edge of Robbie's chair. "Trina never went after Danny. Or she did, but only to beat his ass for cheating on her sister." Confused, he asked if Trina's sister was red-headed. "Danny was an old boyfriend of mine as well, years after he dated my good friend, Victoria. She was upset about it, and then confronted him…I walked in on the two of them kissing."

"So…That was Tori, not Trina?"

"That is correct." Beck turned back to face him and shrugged. "This Mr. Oliver was one of those who bullied Trina on a regular basis, so be sure you take his words with a grain of salt."

The truth was it didn't seem so bad what he'd been upset about. She wasn't acting differently, she was only avoiding a past she didn't want to think about. "Sounds like she needs someone to stand by her side and take care of her."

"Taking care of her, she's got that covered herself," Cat remarked, "But certainly she needs someone to be supportive of her. Someone she knows she can depend on. Because she could never be strong all the time."

"Nobody can be strong all the time," Robbie replied, "Why there are many times I must lean upon you my sweet." He was certain these two didn't talk like this when they weren't out in public, but it was slightly amusing. "I remember ten years ago." Robbie leaned back slowly, his demeanor shifting. "She took off, too much negativity in her life. She wanted nothing to do with it."

"Yeah." Martin dropped his hands to his lap and bumped his thumbs together. "My wife's real father showed up, and now it sounds like she's facing all that past again."

"Right now is the most important thing," Cat marveled, "Has she given you any reason to think she is not the woman you know she is?"

"No…"

"Aha!" Robbie clapped and raised a hand. "My love. Bring me my deck of playing cards, please." Cat nodded and moved back to the table where her children were, rummaging through a purse. She returned with a box of playing cards.

"What are we doing?" Martin leaned forward, raising his eyebrows as Robbie removed the cards and started to shuffle.

"A magic trick my good man." Robbie raised the deck with one hand and let the cards fall into his other. "As you can see here, I have a completely normal deck, fifty two cards, four suits and thirteen numbers." He smiled, recognizing the magic trick of card prediction.

"So you want me to pick a card and predict?"

"Yes." Robbie spilled the cards out before him and began swishing them together to shuffle him. Eventually he began pushing them together, then gave Martin the top card. "Here. I will now attempt to guess your card. Listen to me and listen well."

Martin raised a portion of his card and was stunned to see it wasn't a normal playing card. There was a J in the top left corner and a J in the bottom right corner, and in the middle was figure wearing a jester's cap. There was a very slight tear over the heart beside the J.

"I predict that you carry the Joker card." Bewildered and amazed, he set the card down face up. Robbie had a serious expression on his face and nodded twice. "You are the Joker of broken hearts." Martin gasped softly and Robbie's eyes raised up towards his face. "You realize what a fool you have been and return to your wife."

Robbie had shown him the cards as he shuffled, there were no joker cards in the deck. "H-How did you?" He shook his head and stammered, unsure of what exactly just happened. Robbie flashed a grin and stood up, extending his arms out sideways.

"A magician never reveals his secrets, my friend." Robbie looked him in the eyes and narrowed them. "Now go, before your foolishness costs you something you do not wish to lose, such as…" Robbie pulled the top card from the deck and did not look at it as he flipped it over. "The Queen of your heart." When Martin looked, he was shocked to see the queen of hearts staring at him in the face.

"You-"

"Have been at this a long time, friend." Robbie put an arm around his wife, kissed the top of her head, and proceeded to turn away.

Cat glanced over, waving her hand. "I recommend chocolate and flowers." Martin stammered and shook his head. He knew his wife, Trina liked chocolate but she wasn't one for chocolate and floral apologies.

"She doesn't really do chocolate and flowers."

"Then do something to amaze her." Robbie looked over his shoulder and smirked. "What is something about you she loves?"

"She always says I'm goofy or something…" Their first date consisted of popcorn and orange soda, because he didn't know anything better. Recently she took him out to the country side where they had a picnic of popcorn and orange soda, reliving their silly first date because she thought it was sweet and goofy. "Maybe I'll um…Maybe I'll get some popcorn and orange soda."

Robbie chuckled and turned away. "Sure, friend, if that is what you think will help. By all means, the best of luck to you." They began walking away, then paused for Robbie to glance back at him. "By the way, Trina's middle name? Ellie. Trina Ellie Vega. Don't be a Joker of hearts any longer, friend, be that supporter she needs."

And just like that, they were gone, taking their children and leaving the café. Martin didn't know where their next stop would be, but that mattered little to him. The couple had been right, he'd been stupid and obnoxious and now when his wife needed him most, he was miles away from her.

He had to fix this, but he didn't know how. He was nervous as well, because he was sure his actions hurt her in a way he never wanted to harm. He was going to make things right somehow, he had to; and he would, if it was the last thing he did.

"Trina, I love you." He looked at the wedding photo, his eyes welling up with tears. "Hang in there. I'm coming, sweetheart. I'm coming."

I truly hope you enjoyed this chapter, and at least found some sort of amusement in it. Tell me your thoughts, your observations. Martin seems to be coming around. This is good.